switching between "deep thought" and "airport"

02-27-2009, 07:02 AM

Hi,

Thanks to GTD and others -- in my daily work I can now regularly find an hour or so for "deep thought" when I focus on one topic. This is often followed by another time window when I need to work as an "airport": managing as many inputs/outputs as possible.

It's always possible to find time for deep thoughts. I can do it while driving, at least in the morning when there're few calls. All the rest of time is as you say "airport" time. You can never predict when you get a new input.

It's not so much switching between these states so much as dedicating time for "deep thoughts", and firewalling or blocking off this time and not checking email or answering the phone when I'm in "deep thought" mode.

- Don

Comment

As a work-at-home mother of a 7 month old baby this is something I have had to really learn to do. It can definitely be hard to transition from the deep, concentrated type of creative thinking I so adore, into the here-and-now, crying baby type of thinking/responding.

I used to hate feeling as though I was pulled in two directions - ie. I just wanted to continue my strategic thinking session, but I also wanted to attend fully to my daughter. I have to admit, sometimes I'd be rocking her, thinking about how I just wished I could get back into my office and get back in my groove! I realized that if I just took a quick minute before going to the baby to jot a note to myself about whatever conclusion I had come to and/or whatever question remained on my mind, I could then attend to Sophie with my full attention.

It really helps to take that moment to just wrap up and note where you are in the thinking, even if you're not actually done.

Comment

Research has shown it takes 15 min to get up to speed in "deep thought" mode. A guy with a name more complicated than the whole latin and greek languages combined called this state simply "flow". It's good for us.

What destroys flow are interruptions. So, block some time out, get over that first quarter with force of will and than you will fly...

Comment

I think reducing that 15 minute just takes practice (all other things being equal). For me, "deep thought" is very much like meditation in the sense that it involves quieting my mind, firewalling out the distractions as someone said, and focussing. I can get to that state quicker now than I used to and I know for those with years of experience in this soft of thing it can be much shorter--both the getting to that point of deep thought and the context switch out of it. So, in short, just work at it is my advice. Practice makes perfect.